1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to showerheads, and more particularly to an improved showerhead.
2. Art Background
Over the years, due to the rising manufacturing costs and the rising costs of water and materials, a need has developed for a showerhead which may be manufactured at a substantially low cost, which may be disassembled for cleaning and replacement of component parts, increasing the life of the showerhead, and which also provides an optimum efficiency in the dispersion of water.
In the past, prior art showerheads have been made from many different parts which are usually formed from metallic material. The most common disadvantage of such prior art showerheads is that material costs are quite high. Further, such prior art showerheads are not easily disassembled for cleaning or for replacement of the component parts and typically require the use of tools for installation.
Recently, some prior art showerheads have been developed which attempt to overcome the problems of high material costs due to the use of many metallic parts. These prior art showerheads are formed from plastic material and are manufactured at a relatively low cost, however, they are typically not capable of being disassembled. This creates a critical problem in that particles present in the water system are retained within the interior of such showerheads and, eventually, clog the passages that produce the water spray thereby causing poor performance of the showerhead. Also, an attendant problem of the inability to disassemble is that replacement of expendable component parts is impossible.
Additionally, the efficiency of such prior art showerheads is such that the flow rate of the water outputted is often quite high, thereby resulting in, over the lifetime of the showerhead, literally thousands of gallons of wasted water.
Recently, certain legislatures have inacted regulations for conserving water which sets maximum limits on the flow rate of showerheads. For example, in the state of California, the California Energy Commission requires that showerheads have a maximum flow rate of 3 gallons per minute ("gpm") at 20 to 80 psi. At a flow rate of 3 gpm, the spray pattern of prior art showerheads typically degrade considerably such that the total effectiveness of the spray is drastically decreased.